Lithics

In the winter of 1909-1910, Palaeolithic material was gathered at the Twydall Chalk Pit, east of Gillingham, Kent, by W.H. Cook and J.R. Killick. Unlike previously reported finds from this site, these were found in the pit and removed from stratified sand that was probably associated with a small river channel. This underlay brickearth and rested directly on Chalk bedrock. The collection has recently been re-identified and reassessed, having passed through the hands of other collectors. The technological characteristics are consistent with Roe's (1968) Group I Acheulean pointed handaxe with cleavers, in which he included Twydall. Recent work (White et al. 2017) has proposed that dated handaxe assemblages belonging to Group I are from deposits belonging to the MIS 8-10 Lynch Hill/Corbets Tey terrace of the Thames or from contemporaneous contexts in other rivers, such as the Medway.

Además de la innegable relevancia ideológica y política materializada en dos rostros de mosaico de piedra verde descubiertos en el recinto funerario de un antiguo gobernante maya de Tikal, que fue enterrado entre el año 350 d.C. y el 378 d.C., este estudio busca identificar los rasgos de ma-nufactura de estas insignias. A través de métodos no destructivos, y con el apoyo de instrumentación microscópica de alta resolución, fueron analizados sectores específicos de teselas seleccionadas que conforman los dos rostros de mosaico. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se sugiere el empleo de he-rramientas manufacturadas con materia prima local y foránea para elaborar las teselas. Asimismo, son notables las semejanzas de producción identificadas en las teselas durante las últimas fases de trabajo, mientras que en las etapas previas éstas parecen poseer significativas diferencias.
Abstract. Besides the undeniable political and ideological relevance materialized in two greenstone mosaic faces discovered in a sumptuous funerary precinct belonging to an ancient Maya ruler of Tikal, buried sometime between A.D. 350 and 378, this study seeks to identify the patterns of manufacture recorded on these insignias. Using non-destructive methods and high-definition microscopic approaches , sectors of select tesserae that form the two greenstone mosaic faces were analyzed. Based on the obtained results, we suggest that the tools used to manufacture the tesserae were made using local and foreign raw materials. Moreover, the technological patterns recorded on the tesserae seem to be similar during the final stages of manufacture, whereas during the earlier stages they seem to be meaningfully distinct.

Closely following the invention of photography in the mid-1800s, stereophotogrammetry emerged as the science of extracting metric data from pairs of still photographs. Although commonly employed and developed by governments for civil and military purposes (often using aerial photographs), it was not until the 1970s that archaeological publications employing pho-togrammetry became routine. Early applications in archaeology often featured specialized pairs of fixed-base cameras with precise calibration to take stereopairs of photographs, although individual cameras could also be moved to achieve similar ends. Early applications of stereophotogrammetry both facilitated the display of archaeological findings and aided in analysis. Subjects of study ranged in scale from engravings to monument complexes, and allowed linear and volumetric measurements to be made. Despite its acknowledged potential, in its earlier form the technology did not see widespread use by archaeologists; stereoscopic equipment was expensive and highly specialized, costing over six figures in the 1970s, and required a skilled operator. Some of these concerns were mitigated with increasing use of computers in analysis, although photogrammetry remained a relatively specialized tool into the early 2000s. While originally clumsy and inaccessible , early developments established both the conceptual and technological foundation for modern photogrammetry to progress.

Evidence for flint knapping activity was found within burial contexts across the A1 scheme, with the exception of those from Scurragh House. The prehistoric activity across the scheme will be discussed in a separate publication. The data that supports the discussion presented here is available via the Archaeology Data Service.

Lithic technologies have been an important part of Native American lifeways on California’s Channel Islands for more than 12,000 years. However, little is known about stone tool technologies on Anacapa, the second smallest and closest island to California’s mainland. To broaden our understanding of stone tool technologies on the Channel Islands and assess the availability of toolstone on Anacapa, we classified 859 lithic artifacts recovered from three ~3000-year-old shell middens. Each artifact was classified by material, artifact type, and visually inspected for thermal damage. One hundred and forty-three of the larger artifacts were examined using a glossmeter. Our results suggest that prehistoric Anacapa Islanders were heat-treating and using local Anayapax polychromatic green cherts and chalcedony to manufacture a variety of core and flake tools. Some of these cherts may overlap in color and quality with polychromatic cherts documented on eastern Santa Cruz Island, but the polychromatic green cherts appear to have been of local Anacapa origin. Our study sheds light on lithic resource use on Anacapa Island, demonstrates that cherts were available and procured on all the Northern Channel Islands, and adds to the growing challenges of identifying specific sources of chipped stone artifacts found on the islands.

El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar el análisis funcional de base microscópica para contribuir al estudio de la tecnología lítica de los grupos cazadores-recolectores que ocuparon la región pampeana durante el Holoceno Temprano y Medio. Para ello se utiliza el caso del sitio Paso Otero 4, localizado en la cuenca media del Río Quequén Grande (provincia de Buenos Aires). Este sitio presenta ocupaciones humanas entre ca. 8900 y 4600 años AP. A partir del estudio de las prácticas de producción y uso de los artefactos líticos se determinaron las actividades llevadas a cabo en el lugar, lo cual contribuyó a una mejor comprensión de la funcionalidad del sitio. Los resultados alcanzados determinaron que en Paso Otero 4 se llevaron a cabo actividades generales que implicaron tareas vinculadas con el procesamiento de recursos animales y vegetales. Finalmente, se compararon los resultados obtenidos con los análisis funcionales realizados en el sitio Paso Otero 3 (ca. 4800-3000 años AP) y se analizaron las tendencias temporales de las prácticas de producción y uso para el lapso ca. 8900-3000 años AP. La comparación de estos contextos permitió identificar la producción de las mismas actividades (e.g., raspado de piel, corte de hueso, raspado/desbaste de madera) para dicho lapso, aunque con frecuencias disímiles en los procesos productivos y en la utilización de filos a través del tiempo. Estas diferencias son interpretadas como resultado de la organización de las actividades productivas dentro del contexto social de los grupos cazadores-recolectores. Palabras claves: cazadores-recolectores pampeanos, Holoceno Temprano y Medio, tecnología lítica, análisis funcional. The main goal of this paper is to carry out a microscopic-based functional analysis in order to contribute to the understanding of the lithic technology of the hunter-gatherer groups that inhabited the Pampean region during the Early and Middle Holocene. To that end, the case of the Paso Otero 4 site is used. This site is located in the middle basin of the Quequén Grande River (Buenos Aires Province) and human occupation there ranged from between ca. 8900 and 4600 years BP. Through the study of the production and use of lithic artifacts, a better understanding of the functionality of the site was achieved. Results allowed to determine that general activities related to the processing of animal and plant resources were performed in the Paso Otero 4 site. Finally, the results were compared with the functional anlyses carried out at Paso Otero 3 site (ca. 4800-3000 BP), and the temporal trends in production and use practices for the period ca. 8900-3000 years BP were analyzed. The comparison of these contexts allowed to identify the production of the same activities (e.g., skin scraping, bone cutting, wood scraping/roughing) during that period, although dissimilar frequencies in the productive processes and edge use through time were detected. These differences are interpreted as a result of the organization of productive activities within the social context of hunter-gatherer groups.